A frustrated Chris Ashton reflects on England's defeat by Australia
South Africa and New Zealand next up for wounded England
Sunday 18 November 2012 13:49, UK
Image:Chris Ashton: England lacked clinical edge
Winger Chris Ashton admits England should have beaten Australia on Saturday as they went down 20-14 at Twickenham.
Frustration
Ashton's frustration on the field was evident - particularly when Manu Tuilagi ignored him on the overlap and ran straight into two defenders.
Tuilagi had done something similar to Charlie Sharples at the end of the first half but got away with it when he had just managed to score in the corner.
England and Leicester are working hard to develop Tuilagi's skill-set and distribution, but on this evidence the centre remains worryingly one-dimensional.
"Manu is a strong lad and he always gets over the gainline so his first instinct is to do that," Ashton said.
"Hopefully the more I can play outside him the more he will get used to it, then he will recognise the difference between running and passing.
"I thought there was a lot of space out there but it is just us getting to that space and finding the right hole.
"That is the frustrating thing - when you can see it unfolding in front of you and it just breaks down. A bad pass or we end up giving the penalty away."
